Tour introduction and overview of activities

8 days and 7 nights of meeting real Cubans and learning about the funeral process in Cuba on a U.S. licensed ‘People to People’ experience. Tour organized by Global Relations Travel Club (GRTC), adhering to all U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control Rules & Regulations. Accompanied by U.S. Leadership of GRTC, Dan Rutherford and Josh Lanning, well-traveled in Cuba.

Accommodations in Havana are Five Star International Hotels and while in the Vinales Valley you will be staying at the best of the only three hotels. Highlights will be a tour of the Cemetario de Colon, understanding Cuban Funerary, a discussion with Cubans on the burial process, visiting Hemingway’s home and a private cooking lesson.

Our adventure includes Old Havana to the western Cuban country-side and back to the Havana tony neighborhood of Miramar for our Five Star Hotel on the Straits of Florida. Some of the best private restaurants, in all of Cuba, are on the itinerary. The group size is limited and small.

Tour map

Cuba’s big! Its land mass is 42,426 square miles – about 80 percent the size of Alabama. Cuba is nearly as large as Louisiana, and larger than Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Ohio or Indiana. Altogether it’s bigger than Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont combined.

Itinerary summary

Day 1 – Friday :: Arrival Florida

Arrival Florida. Accommodations arranged and included

Day 2 – Saturday :: Arrival and Hello Cuba

Depart Florida to Havana: GRTC Team will meet us in Florida to travel with us and assist with airport check-in and Havana arrival

Arrival at Havana’s José Martí International Airport. Collect our bags and go through customs. We will be welcomed at the airport lobby by our Cuba Education Tours guide and our professional bus chauffeur, included

Private transfer to the Five Star Hotel Melia Cohiba, overlooking the coast line

Private check-in with assistance from our guide and a welcome cocktail, included

Free time to settle in and get oriented with our superior hotel

This evening we will enjoy a group welcome dinner at Cafe del Oriente restaurant, included

Evening walking tour of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will visit the historic plazas that make Havana unique in the western hemisphere. It contains the largest collection of remaining colonial-era architecture. This is a private tour led by our Cuba Education Tours guide, included

Cathedral Square, the most beautiful and private 18th century colonial plaza on the island. Named after the masterpiece of Cuban baroque architecture: the Catedral de San Cristóbal de la Habana built by the Jesuit order

Square of Arms, an ancient military parade ground for Spanish soldiers, surrounded by impressive buildings such as:

Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, former seat of colonial government. Today the building houses the Museum of the City

You will continue on to San Francisco Square, one of the oldest plazas in the historical quarter. The square is named after magnificent Iglesia y Monasterio de San Francisco de Asís dating from the 16th century. The basilica is a striking example of Cuba baroque architecture

Then on to Plaza Vieja, the only civic square of colonial times. Absent are churches and government buildings, and is in contrast surrounded by opulent aristocratic 17th century residences

Day 3 – Sunday :: Museum of the Revolution

Breakfast, included

Visit the Museum of the Revolution, included

Lunch at El Template

Return to hotel

Dinner, not included. This is a perfect evening to explore Cuba’s famed Paladares

Day 4 – Monday :: Viñales Valley of magnificent mogotes

Breakfast in hotel, included

Morning departure to the western agricultural province of Pinar del Río

On drive in Coach a discussion with Q & A on funeral proceedings, grieving, wakes and funeral arrangements in Cuba with our Guide, included

Visit and tour of Francisco Donatién Cigar Factory and see how some of Cuba’s premium cigars are made, by hand, included

Drive through Viñales village, a picturesque town in the heart of Cuba's prime tobacco growing region. The town itself sits in the center of a flat valley surrounded by stunning formations known locally as mogotes. Mogotes are irregularly shaped steep-sided hills that can rise as high as 985 feet and have bases ranging from just a few hundred yards in diameter to as much as a mile in length. The mogotes comprise part of the Sierra de los Órganos mountain chain, and were formed by eons of erosion. Many consider this the most beautiful nature spot in Cuba

Lunch at private restaurant Balcón del Valle (Balcony of the Valley, and we will see why when we get there), included

Drive by funeral home in Vinales; unable to go inside for they are government owned and do not allow outside visitors, included

Hotel Rancho San Vicente check in: a unique hotel set in a woodland area and overlooked by mountains and a highlight for bird watchers

Optional activities: Horseback riding (Highly Recommended), hiking and bird watching, not included; or relax by one of two swimming pools, included

Lunch at Finca Agro-ecológica El Paraíso, included (be sure we get a special drink ‘Stress Reliever’ blended from fresh grown organic herbs)

Tour Finca Agro-ecológica El Paraíso, learn about the family that claimed part of a rocky mountain side to grow vegetables and herbs organically, and the outstanding view of the valley, included

Visit a privately owned tobacco farm that produces product for the world-renowned Cuban cigar, included

Return to hotel

EXCEPTIONALLY ENJOYABLE EVENING AT, SMALL, LOCAL PALADAR: Dinner at private restaurant El Campesino, on the edge of a tobacco field with the mogotes as a backdrop & meet Yuri and Nino, mother and daughter owners, included. We will have dialog with the family about funeral services and how it is handled in the community, a very personal and direct discussion

Day 6 – Wednesday :: Havana return and vintage american cars

Breakfast in hotel, included

Hotel check out

Return to Havana

Visit Finca La Vigía (home and farm of Ernest Hemingway). This unique National Museum also includes his boat Pilar (in part made famous from his book Old Man and the Sea), the graves of some of his dogs, and the fully furnished home which we will be able to see inside, included

Hotel check in: at the Five Star hotel Melia Habana in the tony neighborhood of Miramar

Our group will caravan in Vintage American cars along the Malecon, and stop at a small park for photos & continue on through the ‘ancient’ forest to dinner at the paladar, private restaurant, La Casa, included

Travel to Cojímar, small fishing Village one of Hemingway’s favorite’s places

TOUR HIGHLIGHT: Cooking & mojito making lesson at paladar (private restaurant) El Ajiaco followed by lunch, which we helped prepare, included

Visit a funeral home in Havana and meet with a Cuban funeral director and or the Cuban funeral director's organization

Have a discussion with the Cuban funeral director's organization about embalming and the procedure

Meet with the Cuban cremation organization

Visit to Havana tour Christopher Columbus Cemetery (Cementerio de Colon). Founded in 1876 in the Vedado neighbourhood of Havana. on top of Espada Cemetery. Named for Christopher Columbus, the 140 acre cemetery is noted for its many elaborately sculpted memorials. It is estimated that today the cemetery has more than 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults. Colon Cemetery is one of the great historical cemeteries of the world, and is generally held to be the most important in Latin America in historical and architectural terms

Return to hotel

Dinner not included. With all the great food we have experienced the past week, this is our last chance to re-visit one of our favorite restaurants or check out a paladar we have heard about. Our Cuban Guide and GRTC Team will be glad to help. Plan ahead, even earlier in the week if you need reservations

Evening is free to explore the sights and sounds of the city. It’s our last night in the Republic of Cuba so Enjoy!

Day 8 – Friday :: Havana and Home

Breakfast, included

Check-out of hotel

Transfer to José Martí International Airport for flight home, included

Memories of a wonderful visit to the Pearl of the Antilles: Cuba, included!

Cuba travel is a challenge. Our staff and Cuban partners work super hard to make your tour unfold seamlessly despite Third World conditions on the island. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Flexible travelers understand this is part of their Cuban adventure.

Included in tour cost

Teleconference with the tour group and Global Relations Travel Club (GRTC) leadership to go through the itinerary, answer questions and offer suggestions on opportunities not on the schedule

A series of briefing emails, starting weeks before departure, to assist you in preparing for the trip. This will include a packing list and other practical suggestions

All taxes. All amounts are quoted in US dollars

Hotel in U.S. the night before departure to Cuba

Airport transfers: Transfer from your hotel in departing city to the airport. You are met at the airport in Cuba upon arrival and taken to your hotel. For departure you will be taken back to the airport in Cuba. You need to book your own airfare to and from Cuba

Hotels in Cuba as listed in tour itinerary, or similar

Welcome cocktail upon arrival

All breakfasts, lunches and dinners as per itinerary

All activities, services, speakers, meetings and meals as described in tour itinerary except those noted as “optional” or “not included”

Luxury air-conditioned private coach transportation and a full-time professional driver, dedicated to your group

An expert Cuban English-speaking guide whose background matches tour content and GRTC Team member from the US escorting the tour

Ongoing support from your Cuban Tour staff and the GRTC Team before, during and after your stay

Emergency collect call access to the North American staff while in Cuba

Emergency cash advances for tour participants who face complications accessing funds from abroad while in Cuba

Airfare FROM U.S. departure city TO Cuba and back. Cuban Visa and departure tax from Cuba will be included in your airfare to Cuba, along with mandatory official Cuban medical insurance coverage during your island stay

Gratuities for Cuban tour guide, coach/van driver, chambermaids, restaurant staff, porters, etc of group activates. You will be asked to participate in a ‘gratuity collective’ of $154.89 in which all gratuities for group activities will be collectively paid on your behalf. Details will be sent to you

Global Relations Travel Club is an authorized sponsor of people to people travel to Cuba in accordance with the US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) section, 1 C.F.R. § 515.565(b).

Hotel star rankings are assigned based upon the number of amenities and services offered. This designation system is used in the Americas. In Cuba, hotels are generally older and less well maintained than in the United States. So, for example, a five star hotel in Cuba, while having the same number of amenities and services, will not appear or feel like a similarly appointed facility in the States.

Comparing star ratings in Cuba to those in the United States

Five Stars. Facilities with the best accommodations available in Cuba with a full range amenities and services. Equivalent to four star in the States. Few are avaliable and they are expensive.

Four Stars. Good facilities offering quality accommodations with many amenities and services. Equivalent to a three-star hotel in America.

Three Stars. Medium class facilities with comfortable rooms, fewer of amenities and services. Good if on a budget. Comparable to modest three star in the North.

Two Stars. Modest accommodations with limited amenities and services. Can be uncomfortable. Think roadside motel.

One Star. Basic accommodations offering few amenities and services – similar to a hostel for youth and backpackers.